The Blind Date
by Mikus Proud
Summary: When Hermione's oldest friend sets her up on an unwanted blind date, she's determined not to enjoy it. But things don't go according to her plan. (Muggle-AU)


**A/N:** This is just a little one-shot I put together based off an AU idea my beta sent me awhile back. I needed something quick and fun to write after spending so much time on "Makeshift Matrimony." It's a muggle-AU Sirimione. Thanks for checking it out, and I hope you enjoy!

Thanks, as always, goes to my friend and beta, Ms. K. Everdeen!

 **Disclaimer:** I wish I could live in this world, but I unfortunately don't own any of it.

 **The Blind Date**

"Harry, please. I don't need you to do this. I don't _want_ you to do this!" Hermione rolled her eyes for what felt like the hundredth time as she sat across from her oldest friend in a little cafe in London.

Harry, with his boyish good looks-messy black hair, round glasses, and disarming smile-was very good at talking people into doing things they didn't want to do. The problem was he didn't seem to realize he was doing it, and his innocence always made Hermione more inclined to follow his lead. Which meant that Hermione had spent more than half her life being dragged around by the boy, and now, as a man, he still got his way.

"I'm not asking you to marry the guy! I just want you to go on a date," Harry cajoled.

"A blind date! With a man I've never laid eyes on!" Hermione huffed, "You know I don't like to be with strangers. I'll clam up and make a fool of myself. Or he'll end up being a total weirdo, and I'll end up dead in a back alley somewhere!"

Her annoyance went up a notch when he laughed, "Just because you've never met him doesn't mean I haven't! I've known him my whole life, and I promise you, he's not a total weirdo. And do you honestly think I'd set you up with a man who would kill you in a back alley?"

She huffed again, "If this man is so important to you, how come I haven't met him in the last fifteen years?"

Harry shrugged, "He moved to America before we met and just moved back last month. You remember when we were on summer hols and I would go with my parents to America for two weeks?"

"Yeah, to visit your godfather! You never said anything about anyone else."

Harry was suddenly looking a little guilty and something clicked in Hermione's brain. "Harry! Are you trying to set me up with your godfather?!"

"He really is a great guy, Hermione," Harry finally said into the silence that followed her question.

"He's the same age as your parents! How can you think that's a good idea?!"

"My parents were young when they had me. It's not like he's old. Just...older. He's funny and smart, and I think you two would hit it off great. If you give him a chance," Harry said hopefully.

"I- Harry, I'm just not looking to date anyone right now," Hermione hated that she could feel her resolve crumbling.

Harry picked up on her hesitancy immediately, "Hermione, it's been, what? Almost two years since your last relationship? You're always holed up either at work or at your flat and it's all I can do to even get you to meet me for drinks every once in a while. I just want you to live a little!"

"And this man-"

"Sirius," Harry supplied.

"Really? What kind of a name it that? Whatever. Is this Sirius ok with this? Going on a blind date with a woman young enough to be his daughter?"

Harry's hesitation lasted a beat too long, "I'm, well... I wanted to approach you first before talking to him. But I'm sure he'll be up for it!" He added quickly in response to Hermione's scowl.

"Gods, Harry. Why are you doing this to me? Argh! I'm guessing if I say no, I'll just hear about it again later from you?" He nodded, "Fine! But with conditions."

Harry grinned at her and nodded again for her to go on, "First, if you bring this up with him and he's not interested, don't pressure him into it like you just did me. I would rather not go on a date with someone who does not want to be there. And if I meet him and don't like him, I don't want to hear about it ever again! No pressuring me to see him again just because you think we'd make a good couple!"

"Ok, ok! I can do that," Harry agreed.

After deciding that Harry would give Sirius her number to text if he was interested, they finally moved onto other topics, much to Hermione's relief.

* * *

When Hermione didn't hear from Sirius the first week after her conversation with Harry, she assumed he wasn't interested. Which was fine by her. She didn't need someone setting her up! She was alone by choice. More or less.

When her phone pinged to indicate a text late in the evening a few days later, Hermione had already put the whole ordeal out of her head. So, when she looked at the text, expecting to see one from her mother, her most insistent correspondent, she felt a jolt when she read the message.

 _Hey, this is Sirius. Harry gave me your number. Do you want to set-up a time to meet?_

Hermione stared at the message. She had not expected to hear from him, and now that she had, she was panicking at the idea of actually having to meet him. Suddenly fuming yet again that Harry was doing this to her, she almost deleted the message, but hesitated. After several moments, she remembered her promise to Harry to give the man a chance. Then after typing and erasing several messages, she finally sent one back.

 _Sure. I'm open this Saturday evening._

Perhaps not the most enthusiastic response, but she didn't want him to think she was at all interested. She was doing this to shut Harry up, nothing more.

Her phone pinged back a few minutes later.

 _Ok. Meet for drinks at_ Mark's Bar _?_ _8 pm_ _?_

Relieved that he didn't want to sit through an awkward dinner hour, she agreed to meet him there.

She brooded about the upcoming date the rest of the evening. Why hadn't she asked Harry anything about this man? She didn't know what he did for a living or what he enjoyed. She didn't even know what he looked like!

She was very much dreading Saturday evening, and couldn't wait to just get through the whole ordeal and get on with her life.

* * *

Saturday evening found her sitting at the crowded bar, cursing herself for her stupidity. She had no idea what Sirius even looked like and felt completely awkward sitting there alone, wondering if every man she saw was him. After a very awkward moment with the man who had taken the stool next to her, she turned back to the bar with a sigh and was about to order herself a drink when she heard someone speak directly behind her.

"Hermione?" The voice was deep and had a rasp to it. It immediately sent a shiver down her spine. She swiveled around slowly to look up into her date's face.

'Oh Lord, he's gorgeous!' Her mind screamed at her.

And he was. Tall, with long, dark, wavy hair that fell just past his shoulders and was pushed back behind his ears. His eyes were gray and sparkling with warmth as he looked at her, and his lips were turned up into a smile. He wore black dress pants and a gray button down with two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up. Above the opening of his shirt and on his forearms, he had tattoos displayed.

'Damn you Harry!' Hermione thought, though she couldn't help but smile at him. She had always been a sucker for tattoos, and Harry knew it.

"Sirius?" She questioned. He nodded, and she stuck out her hand awkwardly to shake his. She had never been very good in new social situations, and this is about as uncomfortable as it got for her-one on one with a total stranger with nowhere to run.

He took her hand, shaking it firmly, his smile deepening. Then he said, "Shall we order some drinks and find somewhere to sit?"

"Yes, let's," Hermione said, relieved to have something to occupy them for a few moments.

Once they had their drinks, Sirius lead her through the crowd to a sofa in the back corner of the bar. After settling in, she decided to wait him out to see what he'd say. She didn't have to wait long.

"Harry gave me the impression that you were unenthusiastic about meeting me," he said.

"Did he? How nice of him to do so," she said sarcastically. "No, I can't say that I was thrilled about it, but Harry is..."

"Relentless?" He offered.

She laughed, "Yep, that's him! But he promised me he wasn't going to bully you into this. I hope he didn't."

"Not bullied, no. But I'm sure you know he can be very persuasive. I was... hesitant... but he convinced me."

"Hmm... I'm quite sure you're just playing things down so I don't get angry with him." At Sirius' smirk, she scowled.

Sirius shrugged, "Don't be too hard on him. He truly believes we're a perfect match. He's told me quite a lot about you."

"I can't say the same about you. I barely came away with your first name before agreeing to this date. I suppose I should have asked more about you. But beyond assuring me you weren't going to kill me and leave me in an alley somewhere, Harry didn't offer much info."

Sirius laughed at that, making Hermione smile. "I'm sure you know our relationship?" He asked.

"Well, yes, I do know that, but not because he told me voluntarily. He was really quite secretive about the whole thing," Hermione said.

"Perhaps he thought you'd run screaming from the idea of going on a date with his godfather, who is twenty years older than you?"

He asked the question flippantly, but she could tell by his tone that he was genuinely curious as to what her opinion of their age gap was. She took a moment to study him. He really was quite attractive, and he didn't look the age he must be if he was the same age as Harry's parents, which she knew he was. So, at 45 or 46, he looked no older than his mid-thirties. Though slender, he was clearly well muscled, which spoke of someone who worked out regularly.

And those tattoos! Hermione swallowed thickly and realized when he raised an eyebrow that she had taken too long to respond.

Suddenly uncomfortable, Hermione cleared her throat and said, "I was surprised that he wanted to set us up. I knew of you, of course, Harry used to talk about you a lot growing up. But when I weaseled it out of him that it was you he wanted me to meet, he was very adamant that we would be great together, regardless of the age difference."

It seemed to be Sirius' turn to study her. It was only a moment, however, before he asked, "And your opinion on it?"

"It's...different for me. But honestly, I was so dead set against this blind date for so many other reasons, I never really thought much about it."

He laughed. "It good to know you are entering this with an open mind."

She glared at him before her lips twitched into a smile. She hesitated before she asked the questioned she had been wondering at, "Do Harry's parents know he did this? I feel like they would think it weird. You're their friend they grew up with, and I'm Harry's friend they watched grow up."

"I doubt they know. I don't think Harry would tell them before knowing whether this would pan out, and I certainly didn't tell them."

"Would they react negatively?" Hermione questioned.

He seemed to consider it for a moment, then shrugged with a smirk, "No, I don't think so. But for someone determined not to like me, you seem awfully interested in how people would react to us dating."

Hermione blushed, "I didn't say I was determined not to like you. I'm just against the concept of a blind date in general. Harry knows that about me, and he pushed me into it anyway. So, I guess I'm just annoyed. But we're here now, and you aren't horrible or anything. So, let's have a first date."

He laughed and nodded, then they started talking, getting to know each other. He was an architect and had moved to Boston after university. But after more than 20 years working there, he had decided to come back to London, and he had just started a new job at a up and coming architectural firm downtown. He had missed his friends and family, and though he had enjoyed his time in America, he regretted missing so much time with his loved ones, especially Harry.

When she told him about herself, he appeared quite interested in her job in research and development at a pharmaceutical company. She admitted to being a workaholic, to which he had then admitted to being one too.

When she asked if he'd ever been married, he said no, but he had been engaged a few years ago. He had begun feeling pressure to settle down and start a family, and he had proposed to the women he had been seeing, though he hadn't been in love with her. After a six-month engagement, they had called everything off, and he hadn't had a serious relationship since.

Hermione relayed her own failed engagement to her university boyfriend, Ron. She had loved him, but they both wanted very different things in life. They had gotten engaged just after graduation but called off the wedding with only a few weeks to spare after a blow-up fight regarding career versus family. She still didn't think her parents had forgiven her for that.

By the time they had exhausted all the topics usually covered on a first date, Hermione's head was buzzing. He had made her feel more comfortable than she had expected, he had made her laugh, and he had sent a sexy smirk her way enough times to make her stomach flutter. And his voice! That rasp had really done a number on her.

When they stepped out onto the sidewalk after Sirius had settled their tab, he turned to her and asked, "So, what's the verdict? Should I forget your number?"

Hermione thought about the question. She hated-HATED-that Harry had been right about her and Sirius. She desperately wanted to tell him to bugger off just to spite Harry. But when she opened her mouth to answer, she found herself saying, "No, don't forget my number."

He smiled at her then and leaned forward. It appeared at first that he was going to kiss her cheek, but when his lips met her skin, he lingered for a moment on the corner of her mouth. Not quite a kiss on the cheek, but not quite a kiss on the lips either. And it left Hermione weak kneed at the sensation.

When he pulled back, she looked at him for a moment before muttering, "Damn! Harry is going to be so smug!"

Sirius' laugh made her smile, and it suddenly didn't matter to her what Harry thought. As she walked away from him, she realized she couldn't wait to receive his next text.


End file.
